NEW YORK, NY – Today marks the shopping holiday called Cyber Monday, which is also …

NEW YORK, NY – Today marks the shopping holiday called Cyber Monday, which is also the biggest holiday of the robot year.

With all the attention on consumerism and reviving the economy, many people have forgotten the real meaning behind Cyber Monday. It is the most sacred holiday of the year for robots and artificial intelligence. Cyber Monday celebrates the day the first robot ever became self-aware.

Elektro was a steam-powered robot built for the 1939 Worlds Fair. Inspired by a turkey-induced fever dream, his inventor, Dr. Eric Mansfield, devised a way to attach a human brain to Elektro’s neural relay. After a weekend of sleepless work by Mansfield, Elektro awoke and became self aware the Monday after Thanksgiving, 1940. Elektro eventually committed suicide after a failed career as a blues musician, but his legacy is carried on in the processors and RAM of artificial life everywhere.

Other events remembered on Cyber Monday include:

Isaac Asimov losing a “best of three” arm wrestling competition to Elektro at the first Cyber Monday celebration.